Justice League Tomorrow
by Reborn Dark Phoenix
Summary: After a devastating war against a mad tyrant with many heroes dead, a disgraced Superman disbands the League. Years later, when the same tyrant returns to finish what he started, the original Trinity must come together and reform a legacy and build a new team of heroes to champion us yet again. (Will feature OCs; AU)
1. Last Stand

**_Welcome, dear readers, to the saga of how after a destructive war, a team fall apart, only to be rekindled years later by the three greatest heroes DC ever had, with a whole new generation of heroes (some OC, some we all know). Enjoy, dear readers :)_**

**_*Consider this continuity AU. However, elements of the DCAU, DC Universe, New 52 and Superman/Batman: Apocalypse are incorporated into this story. DC owns everything.*_**

Reborn Dark Phoenix Presents:

Justice League Tomorrow

Chapter 1: Last Stand

The skies were getting darker by the minute, and the thunderous rumblings echoed across the skies of Metropolis. His arms tensed as he strained his superhuman senses to discern how their defense in the atmosphere and in space was going. Despite the massive numbers the Watchtower had picked up swarming against the Earth, he had confidence in his teammates, his allies, his fellow guardians of the Earth; because they'd never give up. They were heroes, the world's greatest line of defense.

They were the Justice League.

Nothing could stop them from defending Earth.

A massive boom rang out, louder than anything he had heard in his life. Looking up, he saw the heavens light up in flashes of green and red, signaling that the Lanterns were firing against heavy artillery fire. Another boom, which he recognized as a boom tube opening-but much closer this time-told him the enemy was sending more reinforcements.

To his right, standing in his typical posture save his head pointed upwards, was his greatest ally and friend; Batman had left Gotham in the hands of his Clan-Nightwing, Red Robin, Robin, Batgirl, Catwoman and Huntress-and three members of the Titans: Starfire, Cyborg and Donna Troy (the rest of them spread thin in Jump City, New York, Los Angeles, London, Keystone City and Dakota City). He had done so with the sole purpose of being here with him, with them. It was obvious this one of very few time that there were some metahumans in Gotham to face the coming onslaught, the approaching and seemingly unstoppable forces.

"Bruce."

He turned, looking at him, his eyes scanning him from beneath his cowl. At the same time, X-Ray vision told the Kryptonian that under the mask, despite a face of iron will and seriousness, the Batman's eyes were filled with…uncertainty?

"We will overcome this, Bruce."

Batman looked at him for a few seconds, the replied, "We better…for all our sakes. Last time, he wasn't so happy he lost.

"Don't remind me." His own voice filled with anger.

Then he heard it-the scream; the voices…the horror. In that instant, Superman, the Man of Steel, knew fear.

**KABOOM!**

A figure crashed into a nearby building, the impact almost destroying it, but Superman knew who it was. "J'ONN!" As he, Batman and a few nearby heroes rushed to the Martian Manhunter's side, they saw him in a terrible condition: bruised, broken, beaten…

"…Too many…we were overrun…not strong…Watchtower lost…" And with that, J'onn J'onnz went comatose. Their defenses in the edges of the atmosphere had been crushed.

As if to confirm, from the clouds flew Dr. Light, holding an unconscious Orion, followed by Firestorm and Booster Gold, each carrying one of two unconscious members of Earth's four Green Lanterns: Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner. Covering their retreat, John Stewart and Kyle Rayner were using their rings to protect them from the now visible and bombarding blasts of the artillery of Apokylips, while Supergirl and Power Girl used their laser vision to return covering fire.

Then came the bloodcurdling shrieks, the roars of conquest that sent down Superman's spine as he realized just HOW MANY there were.

Then they appeared: the near unstoppable and near unending swarm of Parademons and war machines.

Darkseid's invasion was now fully underway.

Superman turned to the assembled Leaguers with him: Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Hawkgirl, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Atom Smasher, Big Barda, Plastic Man, Metamorpho, Shazam and Red Tornado.

"This is our stand, everybody," he began speaking. "The Amazons have joined the fight against Darkseid; Aquaman and Atlantis have taken up the fight, as well; and Leaguers are positioned all across the world along with the Teen Titans. No matter what, we will not fall today! We can push back Darkseid, and we will!" Although they didn't cheer, Clark could see that the heroes had been motivated and their spirits had been strengthened.

The invaders swarmed closer… "Hold…" Closer… "Hold…" Closer… "Hold…" Closer... "NOW!"

The forces of Apokylips were met head on by the united heroes. Batarangs, lasso, arrows, sonic screams, laser vision, mace, wind, acid, and fists collided with the bodies of the invading hordes; the Parademons had expected resistance, and responded accordingly so.

With a frenzy of war.

Metropolis had now become a warzone. The heroes continued to hold off the massive onslaught, joined by the US armed forces that had managed to make it into the city and the local police forces; all refused to yield, to surrender. The Justice League had staved off the Thanagarian invasion. They had staved off Darkseid's first invasion. They had staved off the Justice Lords, the Crime Syndicate, the Secret Society, the Black Lanterns, the White Martians…

They would stave off Darkseid's second invasion as well.

"SUPERMAN, BEHIND YOU!" He had been aware of the war machine rushing in his direction before Shazam had made mention of it, thanks to his superhuman senses. Nonetheless, his reflexes took over and he dodged the Apokylips cruiser. Luckily, Wonder Woman came up with the idea of looping her Lasso around one of its cannons and with her gods-given strength, she flung it back into a nearby squadron of other war machines. The resulting explosions were very gratifying to the Amazon.

"Six down," she said with a smirk

"Six million left, Princess," came the baritone in response, but Diana could sense the smirk that the Dark Knight had on his face through the comm links. The subtle humor he had developed in their budding relationship was one of the many reasons she loved him.

"Power Girl, Supergirl, Rayner! Focus on the left flanks!" Batman barked into his comm as he unleashed a storm of Batarangs into a squadron of Parademons that were overrunning some soldiers. "Shazam, Stewart, Hawkgirl! Hit hard on the right flanks! Superman, Diana, Tornado & Metamorpho! Take out their aircraft! Everyone else, take these damn things off our streets!"

Despite Metropolis being his city, Superman had given the Batman the honor of formulating their battle plan here against the onslaught.

…Meaning Bruce felt that Clark was in no shape to make tactical decisions and Clark just said "Whatever."

Dr. Light, Booster Gold and Firestorm-after getting J'onn, Orion and the other two Lanterns to safety in the subways-joined in the battle. The sounds of missiles colliding with the Apokyliptian aircraft signaled the arrival of Air Force fighters, bolstering humanity's efforts in beating back Darkseid's forces from Metropolis.

The rest of the world…wasn't doing so hot, as Kid Flash would say.

"Nightwing to Batman!" Dick's voice came in through a separate comm Batman had to keep in contact with Gotham's defense. "We're getting crushed over here! We're fighting hard, but there are just too damn many of them! Star & Donna are all we got against their aircraft; they're keeping the air force out and-BARBARA, BEHIND YOU! Damian, I said to cover her, dammit! The GCPD and Marines are doing all they can but we need help here, NOW! Catwoman, Huntress, watch the left flank!"

"WHICH left flank?!" came the screaming reply of Selina Kyle. Batman was deeply worried about his beloved city.

"Black Lightning to all points! Shanghai is becoming a lost cause! Repeat-Atom, Vigilante, Superboy, Hawkman, Vixen and I are LOSING Shanghai!"

"This is Wildcat in Tokyo! We're getting pulverized here! Etrigan and Steele are out cold; Fire, Ice Dr. Fate, Kid Flash, Beast Boy and I are losing ground! The Japanese military is spread too thin, there's just too damn many of these things!"

"Captain Atom in Mexico City! Our forces are being increasingly overrun! Regular army troops are getting decimated! Stargirl, S.T.R.I.P.E.S. and Vibe have been knocked out, and the rest of us-!"

"Sao Paulo is being overwhelmed-!"

"WE'RE LOSING CAIRO-!"

"Sydney has fallen, I repeat, we are abandoning Sydney-!"

Superman heard it all with his meta -hearing, but he refused to let them deter their cause. "STAND GROUND!" No matter what, hold steady! Earth WILL live to see a new day!"

"Superman, they're right!" Shayera's voice came through the comms. "No matter-HYAAARGH-what we do or how much we hit them they're-HARRGH-not going to give up! There's too many; we need-HIIYAAARGH!-backup, now!"

"Where are we going to get that kind of reinforcement?!" came the incredulous voice of Big Barda. "This is Darkseid where talking about- Where can we get that kind of firepower!?" For ten seconds, no one-not even Plastic Man, for once took taken aback by the invasion to be joking-could give a reply.

"OA!" Both John Stewart and Kyle Rayner seemed to have an epiphany as they said the word in unison, not understanding how they could forget the armies they represented. As the former Marine fired a distress beam into space, the cartoon artist turned Lantern sent a message via his power ring.

"This is Green Lantern Kyle Rayner of Earth, Space Sector 2814! Earth is under attack by Darkseid and the armies of Apokylips! The Justice League and the armies of Earth are being overwhelmed, and Green Lanterns Guy Garner and Hal Jordan of Earth have already fallen! Send reinforcements immediately-the entire Corps if you have to, but we need help NOW!"

"Now we just hope they listen!" Stewart cried out as he blasted more carriers out of the skies.

"HOPE?!" Green Arrow cried out as he led a team of soldiers and officers against a flock of Parademons. "We need some help now and you want us to hope!?"

A massive explosion broke out as what appeared to be a gigantic engine, engulfed in flames, suddenly crashed into downtown Metropolis, erupting into a massive fireball, and shooting out flaming chunks of metal, concrete and brick. Parademons were consumed by the flames and only by the speed of Flash and Shazam along with the quick use of Stewart's ring were the human soldiers and still fleeing & panicking civilians caught in the explosion saved.

"Guys, I…I think that was one of the Watchtower's engines," Plastic Man voiced with horror. The Watchtower had been floating above Metropolis, one of Batman's ideas as he was sure the one behind this would appear in Superman's home city. It was to be the pinnacle point of the League's defenses in space. As that defense had crumbled, everyone forgot about the giant infrastructure that was now crashing into the outskirts of Metropolis, the giant metal skeleton visible for miles around. It had been utterly destroyed.

With her enhanced vision, Power Girl scanned the skies for more debris. "No other major sized pieces seem to be heading this way! Most are just crashing into the city outskirts!"

"Then keep holding the line!" Wonder Woman cried out. "We are warriors, and we shall not fall!" To emphasize her point, she impaled a Parademon's throat with her sword.

"Uh…guys?" came the voice of Barry Allen, the Flash. "We have a problem…"

"YOU DON'T SAY?!" Batman's tone did not match the implied sarcasm of his words. If anything, it sounded like he was threatening his teammate. "And just when things were going SO well!"

"BATMAN, I'M SERIOUS!" The mixture of anger and worry in the young man's voice actually surprised Batman. "I think I just saw an old lady on one of the war machines, looking like she was giving orders! Is that something we should worry about?!"

'Crap.' That was the only thought that entered Superman's mind at those words.

"Granny Goodness!" Supergirl yelled with seething anger. "This confirms Batman's theory; he'll be here soon so-"

"AAAUUUURRRGGHHH!" It was Flash.

"FLASH!" Batman cried as he rushed over to where Allen lay trying to steady himself on a crushed car. The Flash's arm was dangerously and unnervingly gashed and bleeding. A massive chunk of flesh was missing.

"SOME…very hot chick...JUST SLICED UP MY ARM!" Flash cried, the pain in his voice terribly agonizing.

"Dammit, they're already here!" Batman yelled into his comm. "Everyone, keep your flanks covered! The Female Furies of-!" Batman never got to finish his sentence as a powerful kick to his stomach sent him flying into a destroyed car. Ignoring the pain and possibly broken or fractured bones he had now, Bruce spit the blood out of his mouth and with three Batarangs in his hands, he assessed his new opponents.

Gilotina, Mad Harriet, Lashina and Stompa. The Female Furies of Apokylips.

"We're screwed, aren't we?" moaned Flash as he came up to the Caped Crusader, clasping the nasty wound on his arm.

"The Batman and the Flash," Gilotina smirked viciously as she raised her sword. "Our first kills for Darkseid, how fitting." With that, she unleashed an unearthly scream as she jumped up and dove to smite the two, only for her Apokyliptian blade to be met by an Amazon blade.

"You shouldn't have done that," Diana snarled fiercely. "You just really angered me." Batman knew that to anger his lover was to sign one's own death warrant. Wonder Woman and Gilotina began and all-out battle, blades sparking in collision. The other three Furies made to aid their fellow warrior, but it wasn't meant to be.

"Furies!" a yell came out, and as the warriors of Apokylips looked to the direction it came from, they were properly greeted to Earth. Mad Harriet was slammed into the ground by Big Barda, Power Girl bum rushed Stompa and Hawkgirl gave Lashina a slam to the jaw with her mace.

Superman flew down next to Batman. "What about Granny?!"

"Supergirl!"

**BOOM BOOM CRASH POW BOOM**

"That's what, and don't give me that look, Kent, we're at war! Now get Barry out of here, he's losing too much blood!"

"Batman, I can…" Flash was slowly getting dizzy. Gilotina's was true when she severed the flesh from his arm. "I can still…fight. I can still-"

"DICK!"

Despite the carnage surrounding, the infinite army of Parademons and the scent of death all around, Superman and Flash were momentarily distracted by Batman's cry. The same thought occurred in their heads: Something had happened to Nightwing, the first son of Batman.

But before either of the three could utter another word, a huge explosion ripped out in the skies. In unison, all the Parademons began screeching and crying out, the shrill bestial noises sending shivers down the spines of all the heroes and human defenders. Superman could only stare in horror as a gigantic war vessel descended upon Metropolis; he could only witness as it fired a devastating blast of blood red energy upon the building right below it.

The Daily Planet.

It was utterly crushed. Massive chunks of concrete, metal, rubble, brick and steel reigned onto the streets, upon the soldiers, police and tanks. Plastic Man was there too, and it was all he could do to cover all of them under his elastic body, protecting them from the death that reigned from above. The trademark globe shattered upon impacting the ground, sending giant chunks of shrapnel flying all around for blocks.

But it was all lost on Superman; he never saw the carnage of the resulting destruction of his landmark. All he saw was the aircraft, and the figure that descended from its hull.

"Darkseid…"

It was but a whisper.

Before Batman or Flash could stop him, the Man of Steel flew up and breakneck speed to confront his most powerful enemy. His eyes glowed crimson from the heat vision he was about to unleash.

"DARKSEID!"

"Superman, NO!" Diana's cry as he raced past her and a fallen Gilotina fell on deaf ears.

"Batman to all points! DARKSEID HAS TOUCHED GROUND!"

Darkseid saw the charging Kryptonian and mere smiled. He then grabbed his face and throat with his massive hand as Superman was about to punch him into space, halting his charge instantly. The resulting impact of the collision sent echoes of sonic booms for miles around.

"Kal-El, it's been far. Too. Long."

His hand began to glow red suddenly. Then redder as it began to burn; soon, Darkseid could hold the Kryptonian no longer as he screamed in agony from the burst of heat vision Superman had unleashed on his hand.

"THIS ENDS NOW!" Superman roared furiously.

Both near omnipotent beings fired beams of energy from their eyes at each other, at once. Superman's heat vision against Darkseid's Omega Beams; Superman didn't stand a chance. His enemy's Omega Beams devastated the Kryptonian, blasting him into the ground. Only by his invulnerability did Clark not perish as he was slammed into the ground, but Darkseid didn't stop there. He continued his surge, blasting the Kryptonian deeper into the ground.

At last, Darkseid stopped his merciless barrage, but Superman barely registered it.

The last thing he saw before falling unconscious was Darkseid jumping down, being rushed by Wonder Woman, Shazam, Power Girl, Batman, Atom Smasher, Big Barda and a bloody Flash.

…

Then, everything went black.

**_XXXXXXXXXX-A/N-XXXXXXXXXX_**

**_What did you guys think? I think the final product was well done, but I wrote it, so of course I'd think that._**

**_Please leave a review, some feedback and all that good stuff, just so I know that people like this story and it doesn't end up dead in a few weeks._**

**_Ok, my friends, thanks again and be sure to check out my other stories. Until next time readers :)_**


	2. Fallout of Failure

_**Welcome back, everyone, and here is Justice League Tomorrow, chapter two. Enjoy :)**_

_**Disclaimer: DC owns everything except what I have the characters do.**_

Chapter 2: Fallout of Failure

Something woke him up.

A bump on the arm. It was a very soft bump, and regularly he would've never noticed it. But it woke him from his unconsciousness.

The first thing Superman saw was smoke and fire. Ahead of him, a destroyed car was in flames, spewing smoke from its mouth on top as it consumed oxygen to stay aflame. Instinctively, and with a little pain, he used his vortex breath to end the fire's life.

"Oh, you're awake."

The voice startled Clark, and it was only then he realized that he wasn't actually moving on his own, but a person was supporting him on their body. Looking up, he saw the face of Hal Jordan, covered in dirt and dust, sadness in his eyes and a wavering smile on his face.

"Hal…you're ok-"

"Yeah…my ring managed to keep me safe when the Watchtower exploded. I was only out of it for about 10 minutes. Same with…" The Green Lantern suddenly found he could not speak.

"Hal?" It dawned on Clark. "Where's Guy?"

"Guy…he attacked Darkseid when Shazam and Wonder Woman were thrown into the Planet remains. He used his Omega Beams and Guy tried to make a shield…" Tears began to cascade down the former Air Force pilot. "Guy's gone, Superman."

Superman was at a loss for words; Guy Garner was dead. No…

Who else had died?

A nagging question was in his mind. "What happened, Hal?"

Jordan looked to the skies. "We won, Clark. It was almost lost…then we…won."

"But…?" Superman felt something was wrong.

"But…not without losing, too. Cairo is completely destroyed, along with a few other cities. The majority are decimated. A lot of civilians and soldiers didn't make it…and some of us…didn't, either."

He failed.

"Elongated Man, Metamorpho and Etrigan didn't make it, from what I hear; they were some of the first. There were others, too…" Hal could no longer speak. He was overcome with grief and sorrow. Superman, now fully healed, stood up properly so Hal could wipe his tears.

"It was a heavy battle indeed." Martian Manhunter, looking better than before when he crashed down, phased through the wall of a nearby building, having helped relief workers clear some debris and saved some entrapped people inside.

"J'onn, it's good to see you're fine," Superman said as he embraced his longtime friend. "What happened to Barry? How's his arm?"

J'onn stared at him for a minute, apparently debating whether to tell his friend what happened or not. "Kal…Flash's arm was ripped off by Darkseid. The shock was too much, as was the loss of blood. He's…I'm afraid Barry Allen has left us, my friend."

He failed.

"Only by the arrival of the full might of the Green Lantern Corps did we defeat Darkseid and his forces," Manhunter continued. "Earth owes them its life."

Darkseid…

"What about Darkseid?" Superman asked. "What happened to him?"

"It took Shazam, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Power Girl, John, Kyle and over 40 Lanterns to finally subdue him. Currently, he is on an Oan prison ship, waiting to be sent to some unknown location, well isolation and hidden so that Apokylips cannot find him again."

The three of them came walking to Midtown Metropolis, where the Daily Planet once stood proudly.

It was utter carnage and devastation; bodies of humans and Parademons littered the grounds everywhere alongside the rubble and debris. Their teammates, their allies…they all had looks of loss, of defeat. Despite their victory against Apokylips, they had lost too much in the process-friends, family, loved ones. Nevertheless, they were doing what they could to help those who had been hurt in the battle; they did their best to keep a high head and give back, as always. They worked with firefighters, police, soldiers, medics and responders to help anyone they could find. For they were heroes, and even if they were broken heroes, they needed to stay firm; they needed to look strong. To assure the people and the world-maybe even themselves-that all would be ok in the end.

Superman's eyes caught the sight of Kyle Rayner, Kilowag and a few other Lanterns surrounding a floating power ring; Guy Garner's power ring. He also saw Shayera Hol on an ambulance, her left wing badly crooked and hurt, and her right arm in a cast. She was shedding tears, but they didn't seem like sad tears…more like tears of happiness, as she was smiling. Holding her was her lover, the Green Lantern John Stewart, also crying; he wasn't smiling however, just a small frown, trembling.

"He almost died fighting Darkseid," J'onn answered in response to Clark's mental questions. "She tried to save him and was badly hurt in the process. I still do not know how she found the strength to fly and slam Darkseid into a building three blocks down." That surprised the Kryptonian, and he couldn't help but smile in pride for his teammate; truly, Hawkgirl was a valuable ally, and a very caring & protective lover.

"We're going to take Guy's ring back to Oa, to allow a proper memorial service for his time as a Lantern," Hal said. "We're leaving his body here, though, since this is his homeworld, so a burial can happen here. The three of us will have to report to Oa first though, so we may not be back for a month."

"Of course, Hal," Superman replied; he was doing his best to hold back tears of grief.

He failed.

Looking to the skies, he saw military choppers, news choppers and dozens of Green Lanterns; he knew without anyone telling him that this was the scene worldwide. They had won the war, but at a heavy cost. Much would be needed to be repaired worldwide, but he knew that Oliver Queen-who just now came out of a bus wreckage with a crying child in his arms-and Bruce Wayne would immediately use their fortunes to the best of abilities for that.

Speaking of Bruce…

He suddenly remembered the desperate cry for Nightwing just before…before…

"Where's Batman?"

And J'onn and Hal could find they had no more words at that; they just stood there in silent mourning.

"Superman," a voice said behind him. Clark turned around to see Power Girl, sporting a slightly bruised face in the process of healing. "I can take you to him, but…there's something you should know."

Not knowing what to expect, he simply sighed and followed his cousin from an alternate universe, Hal and J'onn following behind. Walking down the blocks of Metropolis, Superman took in all the destruction caused by the Parademons and Apokylips war machines. Everywhere, the carnage of stone and metal met his gaze. The bodies of human and Parademons strewn across the ground were being cleared up by fellow humans and a few Lanterns. It made him sick to see such destruction in his city.

He failed.

"There he is."

Karen's voice brought Clark back. Superman saw Batman, but he also saw Wonder Woman. She was…crying? No, sobbing, into Bruce's chest her slender arms around his neck. He had his cape around her, as if to shield her from harm. His cowl was still on, but Clark's X-Ray vision saw that his eyes were glistening with tears that begged to be shed.

"Kal, you know about…those two, right?" Power Girl asked.

How could he not? They were his best friends, after all. What started out as a friendship had blossomed into flirtation, then a secret relationship that almost everyone in the League had learned of by now, rendering the "secret" part useless. "Yes," he replied. He suddenly noticed the amount of paramedics around the two.

"Well…it turns out that Diana…was almost three months pregnant."

…

…

"Wait, what?" Had he heard that right?

"Even Diana did not know," J'onn spoke from behind them. "They just found out 20 minutes ago."

"She was badly hurt by Darkseid in the battle, and he roughed her up really badly." Power Girl struggled to say the next words. "She…lost the baby."

HE had sent her into the battle…oh god, if he-

"It is NOT your fault." Manhunter's voice was firm. "You did not know; none of us did."

"Honestly, J'onn," Superman sighed, "it doesn't matter. I sent her into battle on the front line, and against your judgment at that. Parademons she could handle, but Darkseid…?

He failed.

"Kal, there's something else…" Power Girl wasn't done.

A minute later, a trembling Man of Steel walked up to the two lovers. "Batman, Diana…" Both looked up at him. Diana was still shedding tears, but she was no longer sobbing uncontrollably. Batman, though trying to remain emotionless, was at war with his emotions threatening to show. "I am so sorry about your child…" It was all he could say.

"Kal…" Diana's smile, although heartbreaking, was soothing. "Don't blame yourself, please. You had no idea. Hera, neither did I, and I was three months…" The mention of the amount of time life had been growing inside her brought silence upon her lips.

Superman, her best friend, knew it was enough, what he had said; now came the hard part. "Batman…Bruce…"

Batman just stared at him.

"I'm so sorry about Damian."

Batman didn't move, for a good 15 seconds. Then, he slowly released his lover, got up and walked to him. In a move Superman never expected, the Dark Knight removed his cowl. Revealing that his tears had finally won.

Superman could do nothing as Batman punched him in the face, then hugged him and finally shed his tears over his two lost children.

He failed.

* * *

***Gotham City***

He tried to save him. When he saw what was happening, brotherly instinct took over, and he rushed to his side. All he wanted was to save him. He had lost his leg and half of his arm trying to. But it was all for nothing.

Nighwing couldn't save Robin.

Dick couldn't save Damian.

With his remaining hand, Dick held the lifeless body of his youngest brother, for that was what he was. Blood didn't matter, and time didn't matter; they were brothers, and he failed him. His tears urged to fall out. The paramedics had stopped Dick's bleeding, but could do nothing to save the life of Damian. It was too late for the boy now.

For Gotham's salvation, the life of yet another Robin was claimed.

Next to Nightwing, his girlfriend Starfire held him, her voice and words doing anything it could to try and soothe him, calm, console him…

"The fault is not yours, Nightwing," she said, hoping that Dick would stop crying; the emotions were consuming her. "It was that of that monster, Darkseid, and his creatures. It was no fault of yours."

"He's gone, Star," Dick replied, and he could no longer hold back his tears. "I tried to save him…and now he's gone. I couldn't save him, Star, I just couldn't…" He could say no more. Dick closed his eyes and continued to sob quietly, holding Damian Wayne's lifeless body. Starfire could only hold him and mutter, "I am truly sorry," doing what she could to help him in this dark moment.

Behind them, Batgirl was sobbing in Red Robin's arms; Catwoman stood silently, mourning; Huntress and Cyborg could not move in shock; and Donna Troy was knelt down, muttering a prayer to Olympus, asking for Damian's peace in the Elysium Fields.

* * *

Firestorm, Guy Garner, Etrigan, Elongated Man, STRIPES, Geo-Force, Captain Atom, Wildcat, Steel, Atom, Hawkman, Booster Gold, Red Tornado, Vibe, Gypsy, Animal Man, Aztek, Atom Smasher, Katana, Vixen, Rocket Red, Commander Steel, B'wanna Beast, Vigilante, Shining Knight, Mister Terrific, Blue Beetle and Blue Devil. The members of the Justice League who did not survive the war.

Aqualad, Arsenal, Beast Boy, Bumblebee, Miss Martian, Kid Devil, Ravager and Robin. The members of the Titans that did not survive the war.

The lives of millions upon millions throughout the world…lost forever. That was on his conscious.

The blood of all of them were on their hands, on his hands, because they were not strong enough to withstand the full might of Apokylips. They failed the world.

He failed the world.

He failed himself.

"Smallville, you better not be wallowing in guilt again." Clark looked up and saw Lois next to him, concern and worry written all over her face. He didn't want to say he was, because that would merely end in Lois trying to convince him it wasn't his fault or the League's fault that so many lives were lost, that he had to look to the future now that Earth was saved again and that Darkseid was finally defeated once and for all. But he couldn't; all Clark could think about was how the League wasn't strong enough to beat back the invasion…how HE wasn't strong enough.

Right now, the two of them were in the Fortress of Solitude. It had been a week since the defeat of Darkseid and the world was doing its best to rebuild and move forward. The wealthy of the world-such as Oliver, Bruce, Karen and even Lex Luthor-were putting their fortunes to good use in helping rebuild the cities of the world. The remaining Leaguers and Titans were helping in the aid, as were Hippolyta & the Amazons and Aquaman and Atlantis. Although the Guardians of the Universe couldn't afford to procure more Lanterns to aid Earth, many other Lanterns from other Sectors would occasionally pass by and help however they could, if only of a few hours. With no Watchtower, and Titans Tower partially destroyed, the heroes would either meet in the Batcave or here in the Fortress.

Today, they'd be meeting in the Fortress as Superman's request. He had made a decision that would probably not go over so well with them.

"Lois, I wish we had done more," he whispered as he took his wife in his arms, feeling so insecure and lost.

"I know, baby," Lois replied; she hated to see her husband, the most powerful entity on the planet, break down like this, believing himself a failure for not saving all those lives. "But Clark, even you can't be everywhere at once. Even you have limits."

"I know, but it's not easy to accept," he replied as he lowered his gaze to the ground. "Especially since I was out cold for the entire time Darkseid was trashing the city. If I didn't go up at him like I did, with more rationale, I could've helped end the fight sooner, and more lives would've been saved."

"You'll never know what could've happened, Smallville, and it's not good to dwell on it," Lois said as she gave Clark a loving kiss. "You just have to go with the present, no matter how it turns out, and make sure that tomorrow is a bit better."

Was what he was planning to do better for tomorrow?

"I think they're hear, Clark," Lois said, and Clark knew it too; he could hear the footsteps of the heroes arriving into the Fortress. "Go," Lois continued. "I can't change your mind about your decision-God knows I tried-so if you think it's for the best, I support you 100%, baby."

"Thanks, Lois," Clark replied as he went to greet his friends and allies.

Batman, Wonder Woman, Manhunter, Aquaman, Hawkgirl, John Stewart, Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner, Doctor Fate, Orion, Big Barda, Plastic Man, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Huntress, Question, Zatanna, Black Lightning, Power Girl, Supergirl, Catwoman, Shazam, Dr. Light, Hawk, Dove and the Crimson Avenger.

Nightwing, Red Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven, Batgirl, Donna Troy, Superboy, Kid Flash, Terra, Static, Gear, Fire, Ice and Stargirl.

These were the remaining heroes of Earth.

At Superman's motions, they all sat down at the large table in the room, each of them wondering why he had called them here.

"Thank you all for coming," he said as he looked at everyone there. "I want to thank you first of all for the work and dedication of helping beat off Darkseid and in rebuilding the world afterwards. I know that you're all going through difficult times, losing loved ones and homes and I can't-"

"Kent." All eyes turned to Batman, who stared directly at the Kryptonian. "Everything that you've just said, you could said so via out comm links. Right now, Gotham is falling apart, my family is reeling from the loss of two children and I have to tell my son's mother her child died. This isn't why you called us, so get to the point."

"Bruce-!" Diana began.

"No, it's alright, Diana," Clark interrupted. "He's right, I'm just beating around the bush." He took a deep breath, ready to continue. "Everyone…"

They all held their breaths.

"I'm disbanding the Justice League."

_**XXXXXXXXXX-A/N-XXXXXXXXXX**_

_**How do you all like the direction this is going so far? Who would you least expect to support Superman's decision?**_

_**I wasn't too sure about this chapter, but I think I came out pretty well, capturing the tone of victory mixed with loss nicely. But of course, I wrote it, so I would think that. What did you guys think? Remember to leave a review, some feedback, anything, because I love hearing from you guys :)**_

_**Also, like it was seen with Batman/Wonder Woman, I am indeed incorporating the DC pairings I like/found interesting into the story, so all you GL/HG, GA/BC, BM/WW fans, stick around because I think you'll like the future characters introduced in this story.**_

_**Next Chapter coming soon, so until next time readers.**_


	3. Justice League Disassembled

**_So now it's time to see the reactions to Superman's decision and some repercussions. Here's the third chapter- enjoy :)_**

**_*DC owns everything except for the OCs that will be introduced later on*_**

Chapter 3: Justice League Disassembled

Hawkgirl was the first to break the silence.

"Hell, no! The Justice League is not being disbanded!" Her angry yell echoed all throughout the Fortress. "We're needed, now more than ever!"

"I must agree with Shayera," Dr. Fate said sagely. "This is not a good idea, Superman; at this very moment, all our enemies could very well be debating how to take advantage of all this chaos left in the wake of the war. With over half of our numbers gone, the League will be needed badly."

"As with the Titans," Red Robin added, his teammates nodding somberly.

"My dad died facing those things," Stargirl said quietly as she fumbled with her staff. "Many of our friends did; are we really going to just walk away from this and dishonor their memory by disbanding the Justice League?"

"No," Aquaman said angrily as he stood up, his hook stabbing into the table. "If you want to abandon the League, Superman, that's a decision we can't force you to change. But the world will always need the Justice League; if we disband, what will happen to morale across the world? Their greatest heroes abandoning the single greatest cause they've ever joined or will join?! People will grow to resent us, Superman, not to mention-"

"They already resent us, Orin," Superman said quietly, silencing the Atlantean monarch. "We've failed to safe millions upon millions of lives when Apokylips attacked Earth. I'd hate us, too, once I'd realize the heroes failed to protect us. You know that I heard the countless screams of all those people-across the world-as the Parademons and war machines reigned hell on top of them?"

"So did I, Superman," Connor Kent retorted.

Power Girl made a noise of confirmation as she nodded her head, agreeing.

"Me too, Kal," Supergirl added. "We heard them, and it just made us want to fight on harder, to not give up."

"We fought, yes, but we paid a heavy price, Kara. We failed the world-"

"Kal, this is unnatural of you," Diana interrupted, her voice resonating in shock and anger. "War has occurred on this planet for millennia, and always Mankind has found a way to rebuilt and come together as one to overcome the losses of war. World War ll is a clear example of that; nations united to bring down a tyrant and ended up saving the lives of millions-"

"That were maimed and scarred forever because their heroes didn't get to them in time," Clark interrupted, his head facing down. "And many of them died after the war, anyways."

"Kal-El, this is not your fault," Manhunter stated. "You must not feel guilty about being knocked out by Darkseid in the-"

"THAT'S NEVER HAPPENED TO ME!" the Kryptonian roared as he got up, his eyes instantly a fiery red; Manhunter had touched a nerve. Instantly, Diana, Power Girl, Orin and Dr. Fate made to subdue him if necessary, as Batman immediately went for a small pouch on the side of his belt, ready to take out the Kryptonite if need be.

"I have always managed to stand against Darkseid, no matter the odds," Superman said with humiliation as he sat back down, his eyes returning to their shade of blues, and everyone at the table relaxing once more. "I've never been so humiliated by him like that…he defeated me as if I were nothing. All because I was reckless, fueled by rage and in the spur of the moment; and because of that, I let Darkseid kill hundreds of people in Metropolis…I gave him the chance to kill Atom Smasher, Guy, Red Tornado…Diana's child…"

"Don't you dare make that your fault," the Amazon said with fury as she stood up from her seat again, tears swelling in her eyes. "That was not your fault-no one knew I was pregnant, not even…" Diana fought hard to suppress her sadness and tears as Donna helped her sit back down, trying to comfort her.

"I lost my leg and half my arm in the war, Superman," Dick said, rolling the wheelchair he was now tied to-for possibly the rest of his life-back enough for the rest of them to see his maimed body. "I lost my ability to be a hero when I tried to save Damian. And I will tell you right now, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat trying to save my little brother. That's what being a hero is about, taking the consequences because no one else can."

"I find myself agreeing with Aquaman's earlier statement," Starfire said. "Superman, if you feel guilty about what happened in the war and feel like this will impair your ability to a hero…to be Superman, then we will not force you to change your decision. The fact is, however, that the world will need the Justice League, now more than ever. If it does disband, what happens to the world? The Titans have lost members, just as you have-we've suffered too, as Red Robin stated earlier. We're stretched thin as it is, and without the League, we'll be tasked even more."

"Superman, you can't disband the Justice League," Static interjected. "Besides, doesn't this have to be like some kind of unanimous decision with the entire team?"

"Static's right," Hawk joined. "The entire League needs to have an input in this decision; the decision isn't just based on your opinion, Superman."

"It has to be approved by the Founders before it can even approach the rest of the League," Hal Jordan said. "And Barry may be dead…" he paused before continuing, the good memories with one of his closest friends swarming his mind "…but I really doubt that he'd agree with the notion of disbanding the Justice League, especially at a time when it'll be needed the most."

"And the rest of us Founders," Hawkgirl stated with anger, "are not in favor." Aquaman, Hal, Diana & J'onn nodded their heads in agreement.

No one noticed that Batman was remaining silent.

"It doesn't matter what you all think, or if I haven't passed it by with the rest of the surviving League Founders," Clark stated with authority as he stood up from his seat. "It is my say and my decision. I am disbanding the Justice League-"

"BULL!" Shayera roared, John having to use his ring to restrain her.

"But you can't!" Shazam said, trying to reason with the Kryptonian. "We can still try to rebuild and better ourselves for the next invasion-"

"And why SHOULD there be a next invasion!?" Superman yelled back, startling almost everyone at the table, silencing Earth's Mightiest Mortal. "If the League were as capable and adequate as I always believed it was, then Earth shouldn't HAVE to worry about invasions like Darkseid's attack! The Earth shouldn't HAVE to be under constant threat, or need help from the Lanterns, or have to lose millions of lives!"

"And for that, we have to suffer for it?!" Power Girl yelled back as she got up. "This whole thing was YOUR idea to begin with-!"

"Which gives me the right to end it-!"

"And you're just going to abandon the entire notion now?!" Orion roared as he also got up. "I cannot believe this, Kryptonian! One failure, ONE, and you wish to end the path of a force of good that may very well be the only source of morale this planet has left?!"

"What if it were New Genesis that this happened to?!" Superman yelled back. "What if Darkseid had trashed your home like he did to mine?!"

"YOU DARE-?!" Orion yelled as Big Barda restrained him.

"Earth is our home too, Clark!" Supergirl cried, her eyes glistening with tears.

"You can't be serious!" Green Arrow said, astonished. "You're not even considering what WE want; it's all about what YOU think and what YOU decide! We're just as much Justice League as you are, Superman, and if we have to carry on without you-!"

"You aren't going to because there is no more League!"

"Why should we have to abide by this rash choice of yours?!" Zatanna yelled.

"This isn't your decision to make, Kal!" Diana cried as well. "Batman, make him see reason-tell him this isn't his decision to make!"

Silence.

"…Bruce?"

All eyes turned to the Dark Knight.

"Bruce?" Diana asked. "Why won't you say anything?"

It was Superman who answered. "Because he knows this IS my decision to make."

Everyone either gasped or stared wide-eyed in shock.

"What?" Diana whimpered.

Batman sighed before he spoke. "When it was just us-Kent, Diana, Barry, Arthur, Shayera, Hal, J'onn and myself-we made some rules, remember? Codes of conduct and regulation that were to be followed if we were to work as a team; there was one rule…that I felt was fitting since the League's formation during the White Martian's invasion was all Kent's idea. I brought it up, and we debated, and the seven of us voted that it was a valid point. The rule was…any extremely major decision regarding the League's fate, including disbanding it…could be made by Superman, and Superman alone, as the Justice League's creation was because of him."

Silence rang out for a good minute.

"So that's it then." Aquaman stood up, deciding to leave. "If this is how it shall be, then I see no further purpose of my time on the surface world. I am returning to Atlantis." Walking away, he stopped and turned back to the heroes. "These last few years were some of the greatest of my life, and I thank you all for the experiences. You are always welcome in Atlantis." With those words, the King of the Seas left, never looking back.

"I concur," Orion said with a heavy sadness in his voice and heart, standing up as well. "If there will be no more Justice League, then I have no more purpose remaining here on Earth; I shall leave for New Genesis at once." He turned to Big Barda. "Should I wait for you, or will you remain on Earth?"

"I'm staying on Earth," Barda said, staring coldly at Superman as she also got up. "The planet will need at least ONE hero to protect it." With those words, the two New Gods left the Fortress, never looking back.

"Titans," Tim said as he got up, "move out; we're still needed with relief and aid." Slowly, the Teen Titans, even Supergirl, filed out of the Fortress, not looking back at the heroes, especially the Kryptonian. Only Nightwing and Starfire stayed behind, as they came with Bruce and Diana.

"I really felt like I was part of something with the League," Shazam said quietly as he also stood up. "You were always my hero, Superman, even before the wizard gave me these powers. You taught me how to be a hero with your example." He walked away. "I hate you for making this decision, but I'll never be able to thank you enough for everything that you taught me." With those words, Shazam left.

"Nice going, Kal," Karan said as she also got up. "Not only have you destroyed a team and a vision, but the moral of people and heroes alike. You should be ashamed of yourself, SUPERman." In a blink of an eye, the Kryptonian from another universe was gone, already returning to her home city.

With a flash and without another word, Dr. Fate teleported away, nothing to say anymore nor with any desire to say anything.

"I thought the League would always be here if needed, no matter what," Selina said as she, Huntress, Question and Zatanna made to leave. "Guess I was wrong."

"It doesn't matter," Huntress said. "We still protect Gotham, and if we can help out elsewhere, the Batclan can do that, too."

"I'm really sorry you feel this way, Superman," Zatanna said with a sad look on her face. "I hope you change your mind…the world needs the League." Checking that the four of them were ready, she said, "Nruter ot Mahtog!" and the four of them teleported away.

"I'm going back to Oa," Hal said, standing up. "I'll be around if the world's in danger."

"Same here," Kyle said. The two Lanterns flew out of the Fortress, heading for the home world of the Green Lantern Corps.

"We'll…be in Detroit if anyone needs us," Stewart said as he got up. "Shayera, lets's-"

"I hate you, Superman," Hawkgirl said as she looked the Kryptonian in the eye. "I hate you for making this decision…for taking away our purpose."

"I hate myself too," Clark replied with a heavy voice. John quickly encased himself and his love in an emerald bubble to keep Shayera from attacking Clark, flying them both out of the Fortress.

"She's only partly wrong," Queen said. "We still have a purpose as heroes; you may have taken the League from us, but not the hero inside us all. We can still work together as a team, we can still be a Justice League-"

"Ollie, when he announces the League is done, the world will believe it's done no matter what we do," Canary said. "Because it'll be Superman who says it, and he is the face of the League."

"What's the Justice League without Superman?" Black Lightning asked, no answer being given as he expected.

"I never said you couldn't stop being heroes," Superman responded. "But it won't be under the moniker of the Justice League anymore."

"And that is going to take the fight out of a bunch of heroes," Plastic Man said sadly; for the millionth time in the last week, he felt empty and desolate. He, Black Lightning, Black Canary, Hawk, Dove, Crimson Avenger and Green Arrow left the Fortress, a Javelin waiting for them.

Manhunter waited a few seconds before saying anything. "If it were not for my human wife, I would leave this world and return to Mars again to live in isolation for the rest of my days. The League was the only reason I had to stay on this world; it was my family…which you invited me into, Superman. It is because of you that I have so many fond and wonderful memories, and I thank you for them. I…shall truly miss the Justice League, and all of my comrades. Farewell." With those words, the Martian phased out of the Fortress to return to China and his wife.

"Um…we'll just wait by the Batwing," Nightwing said as he and Starfire headed to the exit. Koriand'r understood what he meant by the look he gave her.

Only the Trinity was left at the table now, and silence echoed for a few good minutes.

"Bruce," Clark began, but was interrupted.

"When I came up with that rule, I never expected you to use it like this. I never thought that one day, you'd crack like this and disband the entire League; every day for the last three years, ever since we expanded the League's numbers, I felt a little bit of hope for the future of the world because we were doing something right, we were making a difference. Hell, I even believed Gotham would one day be crime free a few times because of what we were doing-I even decided to let a few select Leaguers come to Gotham. THAT'S how hopeful I was, Clark. Then you do something like this and destroy it all with just five words." Bruce got out of his chair and walked over to Superman. "I hate that you disbanded the League, and I am completely against the decision." After a few seconds, though, he sighed and removed his cowl, revealing how tired he looked. "But I do understand why you felt you needed to do it; the guilt is something I'm familiar with. It never goes away, but one has to learn to live with it."

Clark could only nod.

"There is one thing I must know, Kal," Diana said as she came over to them. "Are…will you continue to be Superman?"

Clark expected the question, as he had thought it over many times since he decided he'd disband the League.

"No…not after this…this is too much."

Diana quietly hugged Clark as he slowly began to cry. At that moment, Lois came towards them, stopping at Bruce's side. He had a feeling that Lois didn't know of his decision, and knew it was not his place to tell her if Clark didn't.

* * *

The announcement had shocked the world and destroyed its remaining morale.

The Justice League was disbanded, and Superman was no longer going to be Superman.

Within a few days, dozens of villains across the world had escaped the prisons they were in, and the Teen Titans, along with the other heroes who were still going active, had their work cut out for them.

The team returned to their base, still in the process of being rebuilt, after a battle with the escaped Bizarro, but Kid Flash had left to return to Central City; his parents had died in the war and he was now living with his Aunt Iris, who was now widowed since Barry had died in the war. In the weeks that followed Superman's announcement in Metropolis, both Wally and Iris mourned together in their loss. Wally missed his uncle-his idol and hero. It was he who taught him what it meant to be a hero when he also tapped into the Speed Force, when he became Kid Flash. Barry was the one who encouraged him to join the Teen Titans. Everything that made Wally a hero, he owed to Barry Allen, the Flash. The 17 year old boy didn't know how he could go on now that his inspiration was gone.

Wally entered the house he now shared with Iris Allen, and was surprised to see her waiting on the couch for him, an envelope in her hands and a look of pride in her teary eyes as she looked at him. "Aunt Iris, what-?"

"I found this when I was looking through your uncle's photos," Iris said, a smile creeping onto her face. "I think he wrote it last year, and…well, he wrote if for you." She handed the letter to Wally. "I want you to know that I'm proud of you, Wally, and Barry was too, never forget it; he made the right decision when he wrote this."

Wally opened the already torn envelope and began to read the paper inside, his eyes widening with surprise when he read the first sentence.

_I leave this letter in a place where only Iris would ever find it, so Wally, if you ever read this, then I guess your Uncle Barry's dead…but the world will always need a Flash._

XXX

Her cousin was no longer Superman.

Kara gazed at the city of Metropolis as it continued its slow process of rebuilding itself. For some reason, a supervillian had yet to cause any trouble in the city in the weeks since Clark made the announcement, and for that, many people were grateful; but she knew this was just the calm before the storm. Connor had already told her there was no way he'd be taking the mantle.

Clark had abandoned his duty to protect his city. Metropolis was her city, too. And now, she had decided to take up the call. Supergirl would be Metropolis' protector now.

Her superhuman hearing caught an explosion and a roar of laughter down in Metropolis' downtown water front. She instantly recognized Volcana's voice. Supergirl smiled. A split second later, she was right in front of the supervillainess.

"Oh crap…"

"Yeah, people tend to forget I'm still around," the Kryptonian said with a smirk as her eyes began glowing red. "Mind doing me a favor after we're done and tell everyone Metropolis is under Supergirl's protection now?"

XXX

Fawcett City was his home, and he loved it even if it offered him nothing but hurt and loss.

Being a relatively small city, it wasn't as badly hit in the war as the other cities of the world, and Billy was confident that it'd be safe when he had to go as Shazam to Metropolis. The damage had been relatively small compared to cities like Cairo and Metropolis. Only a few hundred people died.

They still died, though, and now Billy was going to ensure that as long as he was Shazam, he'd do a better job as its protector, as its guardian. He may have believed Superman made a bad call with the League gone now, but he still had his example, and he would follow it. Billy decided then and there, as he stood on the rooftop of his foster home, that he'd be the best hero he could be, and hopefully be an example to any other future heroes.

He saw in the distance the lights of sirens-police cars, chasing an armored vehicle full of cash needed for reconstruction; a robbery, he realized.

"Shazam."

**KRAKABOOM!**

* * *

In the Fortress of Solitude, Clark stared at his uniform…the crest of the House of El.

He had failed the world, his friends and himself.

He didn't deserve to be Superman.

With a sigh, he left the Fortress to return to his apartment in Metropolis, to return to Lois. She had taken the decision of "no more Superman" hard, but nonetheless decided she'd stand by the choice. It made it all the harder to maintain, but he did.

Darkseid had destroyed his spirit and morale. He was Superman…no more.

**_XXXXXXXXXX-A/N-XXXXXXXXXX_**

**_So, right there, is a taste of three members of the future Justice League. What do you think?_**

**_How did you like the chapter? All feedback and reviews are welcome as always._**

**_Oh and as for pairings-I'll be introducing another pairing later on in the story. What is it? Well, it's something that really caught my interest and I liked the idea. Refer to the first JLU episode after the Cadmus saga of the series, and that is my only hint._**

**_Next chapter coming soon! Until next time readers :)_**


	4. Interlude: A Vow

_**So, the world is screwed up with more than half it's heroes dead and its Justice League done and the planet's most powerful protector broken and gone. But what of Darkseid, right?**_

**_A bit of Darkseid, and what the Lanterns did with him. Enjoy :) DC owns everything._**

Interlude: A Vow

7 Lantern Corps.

The Green Lanterns Corps, the Sinestro Corps, the Star Sapphires, the Red Lantern Corps, the Blue Lantern Corps, the Indigo Tribe and Agent Orange's self-created Orange Lantern Corps.

Very rarely did they ever agree to anything.

But in the meeting the Guardians called with the leaders of the other six Corps leaders, they all made history when they came to the same conclusion.

Darkseid was a threat to the entire universe, even against all seven Corps, and he had to be contained…indefinitely. Wherever they'd contain him, it had to be somewhere where the forces of Apokylips could never find him. It was decided that all seven Corps would contribute to keeping the mad tyrant under extreme lock and key.

A cold uninhabited planet was chosen, in a distant galaxy from Apokylips-very distant; it was located near the fringes of the universe, where one could actually, despite its farness, see something resembling a border, perhaps a boundary keeping this universe from colliding with another universe. But it wasn't of importance. Here was where the seven Corps would imprison Darkseid, mad god and tyrant of Apokylips.

Sinestro had given the idea of various alien technologies to keep the titan under heavy lockdown. There would also be a number of power ring constructs to hold him in place. A large number of Lanterns from each Corps would be ever present, rosters rotating constantly. The residents of New Genesis were contacted, and they gave further aid in accordance of keeping Darkseid contained and isolated from the rest of the universe.

The prison was completed in a matter of days, and its sole habitant arrived shortly after, under the guard of 50 Lanterns from every Corps.

Darkseid was imprisoned, and the only reason he didn't decimate every single one of the Lantern Corpsmen was because he was…joyful. He had BROKEN the Kryptonian, devastating his city, his world, the maggots he cared so much about, his allies in the pitiful Justice League…he, Darkseid, as he had always know he would, had rendered Kal-El broken inside, his soul and beliefs shattered.

However, he had intended to do more. After all, he was Darkseid, the mad tyrant and god of Apokylips. His Parademons and Furies and Granny Goodness and his son Kalibak had abandoned him when the Green Lanterns had arrived, and though they continued to fight bravely onwards despite the massive surge of numbers against their favor now, they never thought to come to the aid of their ruler and overlord, the one who could make their lives either pleasant or hell. When he was ready, he'd make sure they'd pay; for that was what Darkseid was doing. He was merely biding his time. He had indeed not finished making the Earth suffer, not finished breaking the Kryptonian to his finality. He was far from done.

He'd break free from this prison one day, when he saw the time was right; but for now, he'd play the confidence of these Lantern Corps, and he'd use the time wisely to conjure up a sufficient punishment for the Green Lantern Corps for their involvement.

These Corps…they really believed their rings were the most powerful weapons in the universe?

Nothing could stand against Darkseid.

Kal-El was proof of that.

**_XXXXXXXXXXX-A/N-XXXXXXXXXX_**

**_*Insert dramatic music*_**

**_And with that, I think it is finally safe to do a bit of time jumping into the future and get on with the main purpose of this story._**

**_Next chapter coming soon, and so until next time readers :)_**

**_*PS if you figured out that mystery pairing I hinted at, awesome! You win NOTHING! Now, you like it to be introduced right in or have it developed throughout the story?*_**

**_Ok, NOW until next time_**


	5. Bird-Plane-Superwoman

_**So now, we time jump, and we start seeing just who is still in the gave all these years later, and who's going to be in the JL of tomorrow. In my opinion, a Justice League always needs a Kryptonian, so withou further ado, I present our first member! Enjoy :D**_

_**Disclaimer: DC owns the characters; I own what they do.**_

* * *

Chapter 4: Bird…Plane…Superwoman

* * *

***22 years later***

***Metropolis, Earth, Space Sector 2814***

"Good morning, Metropolis! This is Snapper Carr, of Metropolis Daily Planet 7, welcoming you to another wonderful new day in the City of Tomorrow!"

The news reporter flashed his dashing smile into the cameras, proceeding to start the hour long news segment show of the Metropolis Channel 7 Daily Planet morning news. All across the city, millions of people tuned in onto their TV screens to watch and listen & see what was going on with the world they lived in. The atmosphere of the city was of casualty and carefree attitude. All around the city, people were heading to work, already working or enjoying a nice breakfast in the company of friends and family, perhaps alone but anticipating meeting up with someone later in the day. The city was at its most vibrant in the mornings and in late nights, although its nights were seconded only by the late nights of Gotham. It was amazing how after the reconstruction of the world Darkseid's invasion all those years ago, the massive waves of crime that surfaced in Gotham for the next five years was ruthlessly put down, and since them the city had begun to slowly but surely rival Metropolis in splendor as its disease of crime and corruption was healing. Kara knew that it never would've been possible in recent years without Tim and Hannah.

Kara was currently inside the New Daily Planet Tower; during the Invasion Reconstruction, the tower had been completely redone and remodeled. A year after its completion, Perry White had successfully gotten the newspaper to become a news channel, and the Daily Planet had since thrived under the management of CEO White until his time came three years ago, and since then of the new and current CEO of Daily Planet News, Jimmy Olsen. Seeing him in action as he worked in making the morning news show flourish as he usually did, Kara couldn't help but smile. Jimmy had come a long way since the legendary Justice League had repelled the invasion of Apokylips-he had been one of those who had taken Superman's…retirement…hardest, devastated that his hero was no longer going to be there for them all. But he was instantly joyful once Supergirl had taken up the role of her cousin, defending Metropolis and the world. Jimmy had become a close friend of hers and she eventually revealed her identity to him, Jimmy promising to keep her secret; as the years progressed, their friendship had grown into romance and they had married five years later.

"OK, people we're coming up onto the first break for commercial, let's finish this smoothly!" Jimmy yelled out to the workers of Daily Planet News; he was well liked by all employees.

"And coming up after the break, Starr Enterprises and STAR Labs entering a possible legal battle and Amanda Waller's speech to Congress-more details after the break; I'm Snapper Carr, and we'll be right back." As the cameras went off for the recess, Carr sighed as he exited the studio to get some badly needed coffee. "Jimmy, man, I think I need a vacation…I can't do with all these shifts I'm taking for Lana and Max."

"Well, they come back tonight, pal, so you can sleep easy tonight," Olsen said as he slapped him on the back. "Until then, just keep drinking the terrible company coffee."

"You'd think that you'd get better coffee since you run the place," Carr snickered as he headed quickly for the coffee machine.

"I would, but the bad taste keeps you all awake," Jimmy called after him as he walked over to his beautiful Kryptonian wife. Kara was lucky as since she was Kryptonian, she aged a lot less slowly than he was aging, and she was still as beautiful as she ever was. Jimmy felt like the luckiest man in the world with Kara. She smiled beautifully every time he took her into his arms, as he was doing so at this moment. Dressed in a white shirt and blue faded jeans that emphasized her physical beauty quite well, topped off with flip flops, Kara Kent Olsen was a remarkable thing of beauty.

"You know, it would be a shame if someone accidentally told them all where they could get the best coffee in Metropolis," Kara teased. "And that it was just a block from here…"

"Kara, you wouldn't dare," Jimmy chuckled, although to be honest, he wasn't sure if she would or wouldn't do it; he could never predict his wife, and that made her all the more appealing to him. "Don't you have a tall building to leap?"

"Sorry, that was Clark's job," Kara replied with a smile as she playfully punched him. Mention of her cousin used to bring back painful memories of the aftermath of the invasion and his decision to quit being Superman, but during the years she had learned to cope and move on. "That reminds me, we're still going to Smallville to visit Clark and Lois this weekend, in case you forgotten."

"Haven't forgotten, babe," Jimmy replied. He'd never miss up an opportunity to see he who was once his greatest hero, and Clark had been more kind and friendly than ever since he and Kara began dating; hell, he approved greatly of him. "We're staying the whole weekend or just-?"

"BOSS!" one of the reporters yelled as he exited one of the elevators and came running towards them. "We just got something off the police scanners and the news chopper-Volcana, Killer Frost and Liverwire are attacking the Metropolis Jewelry & Art Museum! Police and SWAT are just arriving!"

"Wow…ok! Supervillian showdown, people-I want full coverage! Snapper, forget all other stories until this is over with! Get the guys in the chopper on scene, and get Chopper 2 there, too! C'mon people, let's do this!" As everyone immediately began dashing to do their duties and get the best coverage of the scene, Jimmy turned to Kara, who was smiling mischievously, her eyes glowing a slight shade of red. "Be careful out there, Kara."

"Always," Kara replied as she quickly kissed him; with that, she headed to the elevators to take her up to the rooftop of the Daily Planet Tower.

* * *

***Metropolis Jewelry & Art Museum, a minute later***

"Stupid guards," Killer Frost mused with a sinister smile as she pushed the now dead guard encased in ice to the floor, using her cyrokinesis to repair her ice mohawk that the guard had desperately shot at her in an attempt to stop her. Picking up the bag of jewels she had dropped she continued to bombard the pitifully small troop of museum security guards that tried to stop the three villainesses as well as the fleeing civilians who were desperately trying to escape, encasing them in death-ensuing blocks of ice; oh, how she loved doing this. "Seriously, you'd think that after all these years, they'd have more guards around here."

"You're complaining?" Volcana smirked as she poured more jewels into her own bag.

"No…but I'd like a challenge once in a while," Frost retorted. Seeing the looks from her two allies, she added, "From regular people, I mean."

"LIVEWIRE, VOLCANA AND KILLER FROST!" a loud voice echoed out through a megaphone. "This is the Metropolis police! We have the building completely surrounded; you have only one chance-surrender or we'll be forced to take action!"

"Are they serious!?" Livewire said in hysterical laughter. "Do they honestly think they can stop us-US?! C'mon girls, let's show 'em who they're messing with."

Outside the museum, a small army of police officers and SWAT units, each armed with heavy duty machine guns and combat shotguns, prepared to storm the building. Behind them, other police officers were trying to keep the civilians and news reporters back behind the police lines. "Ladies and gentlemen, we need you all to stay back-this is a very dangerous situation and we don't need you all endangering yourselves, so please keep-!"

A thunderous explosion echoed out as Volcana burst through the doors of the museum flinging huge fireballs at the officers and SWAT vehicles, scattering them and destroying the vehicles in explosives balls of fire. Instantly, Killer Frost and Livewire joined in, also bombarding the officers with blasts of electricity and ice. Boldly, the officers returned fire, even bringing in flame throwers to take out Frost, but Volcana quickly turned those against them; nonetheless, the valiant protectors of Metropolis fought on, bombarding their opponents with bullets that did nothing as Livewire's electricity simply sent them crashing into the ground, Frost froze them and Volcana melted them.

"Keep firing!" an officer yelled out, clearly the one in charge of the situation. "Don't let them escape!"

"Try and stop us, honey," Livewire yelled wickedly as she electrocuted the officer, her screams echoing across the street as Volcana and Killer Frost forced the others to retreat to the other side of the street. Livewire grabbed the lead officer and prepared to ravage her biological systems with electricity. "Did you seriously think you could try and stop us?"

"Didn't need to stop you," the officer grinned with a winced. "Just stall you."

"Stall us?!"

"VOLCANA! FROST! LIVEWIRE!"

"Oh, no," Livewire muttered as she dropped the officer and looked up at the skies, Volcana and Frost doing the same thing, all three holding a look of anticipation and fear. Floating down from the skies, red cape billowing in the winds with the crest of the House of El on it, was a beautiful yet dangerous blonde adorned in ceremonial Kryptonian battle armor, covering her entire body save her hands, and red boots and belt, the worldwide famous S shield on her chest. As she arrived on the scene, the masses of civilians and reports cheered her arrival.

Kara Zor-El. Superwoman.

"Ok, girls, I'm only going to give you one chance here to surrender," Kara said with ice in her voice, her eyes glowing dangerously red. "I'd take it if I were you."

Volcana and Livewire knew how powerful the Kryptonian was-sure, she wasn't Superman, but she was almost at that level, just barely there. They contemplated surrendering; Killer Frost, however, never backed down from a fight and felt that she was getting the challenge she so wanted at last.

"Tempting, Superman wannabe," she yelled to the heroine, "but NO THANKS!" With that, she fired a massive blast of ice at Superwoman, completely encasing her in a humongous block, which crashed down in front of the three villainesses. Silence rang out for a good while as the people saw their heroine seemingly defeated so easily. "Well, that was easy."

"I don't buy it," Livewire said. "How could you possibly trap her like that so easily?"

"What? I can't just be that good?"

**sssCRASHH!**

The ice instantly shattered, two powerful beams of laser vision hitting Livewire and sending her flying into a nearby SWAT vehicle. "Nope, you can't be," Kara smirked as she once again flew up, and then tackled Volcana to the ground, knocking the wind out of her. "Now, I'm taking you in!" she yelled as she turned to Killer Frost.

"TRY IT THEN, SKANK!" Frost yelled as she fired more ice blasts, only to be met head on by Superwoman's heat vision, melting the ice. Instantly, Kara bum rushed her, slamming her into the ground, at which Frost retaliated by creating a massive ice pillar to send the Kryptonian into the sky, right for Livewire to blast her with electric blasts. Screaming as the vicious electricity coursed through her body mercilessly, she was unable to block or dodge Volcana's barrage of fireballs, sending the heroine crashing down into the pavement.

"Give up, hero?" Livewire smirked as the three villainesses stood over her. They were shocked when the heroine easily stood up. Yes the three criminals were powerful, but the abilities of electrokinesis, pyrokinesis and cyrokinesis were nothing against the power set of a Kryptonian.

"Haven't even started yet," Superwoman said with a mischievous smile. In a split second, she froze Livewire solid with her freeze breath, rendering her useless to her teammates; before the other two could even realize what had just happened, however, she was on them in an instant. With her skills in martial arts, she easily subdued Volcana. Killer Frost, however, came back to her senses quickly and used everything in her power to dodge and evade Superwoman's blows, forming roller coaster-like ice constructs to get out of the way and hopefully somewhere else where she wasn't near the heroine. Unfortunately, Kara's speed was far greater than Frost's, and she easily caught her, lifting her up into the sky by the cuff of her outfit.

"OK, OK, I'll go quietly!" Frost yelled out. "Just don't hurt me!"

Kara's response was to hit her in the head with enough force to knock her out cold for the next few hours.

After helping the police and SWAT load up the villainesses into the reinforced transport wagons and posing for the cameras with the museum curator as he gave his thanks for her help, Superwoman took off into the skies, heading as fast as she could to the edge of the atmosphere, where Earth and Space touched. In a matter of seconds, she was gazing down at the face of the planet, the noises from the world still noticeable to her ears but now, not as much; Clark had taught her well in suppressing her powers when she needed to. She could see why her cousin loved to do this back when he was still Superman-the peace and quiet (well, relative quiet) was inviting and warm, and as it was accompanied by a beautiful view of the Earth from a point of view very few people would ever see in their lives, it never failed to take Kara's breath away. It was really a beautiful sight, and she always told herself to take a picture when she came up here…but of course, she remembered with a smile, she never brought her phone with her because she always forgot.

After spending a good half hour enjoying the time to herself, Kara decided to head back to the Daily Planet Tower and see if Jimmy was busy or not. She was in the mood for hamburgers, and Jimmy did make the best hamburgers ever.

_**XXXXXXXXXX-A/N-XXXXXXXXXX**_

_**Well, I bet there were some things here you weren't expecting. Tell me what you guys think-I love hearing from you and all feedback, advice and constructive criticism is welcome.**_

_**So, how do you think our new Superwoman is going to be involved in this? What role do you think she'll play? Oh and if it didn't come across, her costume is basically a female version of Superman's New 52 uniform, just more feminine and no skirt.**_

_**Next up, we're going to Bludhaven!...or Rio de Janeiro...or Detroit...I'm not really sure which one to pick, to be honest. Where do you want go next? And not only that, what heroes do you think are being associated with said cities?**_

_**Well, next chapter soon, so until next time readers.**_


	6. Silent Night, Starry Night

_**So, we've arrived at Bludhaven today on our tour of Justice League Tomorrow. Now since it's the future, how about we give a former Teen Titan some love? (Yea I know Kara was also a Titan but here she was also a Leaguer. I present to you: Silent Night, Starry Night. Enjoy :D**_

_**Disclaimer: DC owns everything except the OCs**_

* * *

Chapter 5: Silent Night, Starry Night

* * *

***Wayne Enterprises Bludhaven Tower Office; Bludhaven, Earth, Space Sector 2814; night***

He hated this.

He was the Bruce Wayne of Bludhaven, the one who ran the company's branch here in this city. He loved it and what it provided him; after all, if it weren't for all the time and research he and his scientists had put into the projects, he never would have such advanced prosthetic limbs like what he had now. Running the business here was actually kind of nice.

It was EVERYTHING ELSE about being the Bruce Wayne of Bludhaven that pissed him off to the ends of the Earth.

He saw now why his father hated this, because he hated it too.

"Dick!" the older gentleman who was definitely a politician in the city (years of drilled in training helped him remember this) said loudly as he greeted him, and Dick Grayson once more forced a smile on his face. Luckily, he still remembered this man's name.

"Bart Matthews," the former Titan and protector of Gotham City said with a fake enthusiasm he had mastered years ago that almost no one could ever detect. "Good to see you again." He noted that the man had a near empty glass of champagne in his hand and he seemed a bit tipsy. "I see the champagne is doing quite nicely for you. We really should catch up, but I'm afraid I have quite a number of guests to attend to tonight."

"Of course, of course," the politician named Matthews said with a bashful smile. "Perhaps some golf this weekend? I'll call you, Grayson; now, if you'll excuse me, I must find my wife."

'Well, that wasn't too bad,' Dick told himself as he watched the man melt into the crowd of Bludhaven's elite and upper class. Tonight, Wayne Enterprises, Bludhaven Branch was hosting a party in helping raise awareness for the poverty-stricken children that still dwelled in the inner urban areas of the city. Of course, many of the guests here were simply here for the party and in hopes of getting the famous Dick Grayson to help finance or back or support whatever ideas they had recently cooked up to further their own agendas (though there were a few whose desire to help was actually quite genuine), along with the dozens of supermodels or younger female dates of older guests or female politicians trying to throw themselves on him. Seriously, why did everyone think that just because he was the adopted son of a billionaire playboy, he had to act like one, too?

He wondered if Tim or Hannah had to deal with this over in Gotham as he walked up to the podium to address the mass of people he wish he never had to socialize with ever in his life. Time for the mask to come into play. "Excuse me…can I have your attention, please?" he said into the microphone, and soon the party buzz died down as everyone, including the waiters and food servers, turned their attention to him. "Thank you; now, I'd just like to thank everyone for being here tonight, and for helping Wayne Enterprises do its part here in Bludhaven. We all know times have been very tough, even before the invasion 22 years ago, but we've strove forward, never surrendering. Alas, a number of children in the city haven't had the same chances, and have been suffering an everyday battle against the hardships they've had to endure. Thankfully, there are people here who care enough to help them out (_very few, he reminded himself_) and your donations to the Wayne Bludhaven Foundation are, in my opinion, change the lives of hundreds of children in Bludhaven. Thank you all."

As the crowds broke into polite and drunk applause, Dick walked down from the podium, heading towards the balcony to get some fresh air, and avoid anyone who was trying to sneak an audience with him. Welcoming the refreshing cool breeze that assaulted his face as it took away the air of the stuffy room from his senses, the former Titan gazed at the moon, then towards the city below. It was a beautiful site at night. It reminded him of the nights he had in Gotham as a young man, striking fear into the hearts of criminals alongside his mentor, his friends, his brothers…

With a painful pang, Dick looked at his prosthetic arm, a constant reminder of how he failed his youngest brother. Bruce had been right-the pain would never go away; it would always be there and one just had to learn how to cope with the pain. Dick vividly remembered how humiliated he was as he held Damian's lifeless body in his arm, an image he would forever carry in his head. Over the years, however, he had attempted to cope and move on, something his mentor always had extreme difficulty with doing before he started letting Diana in. At that thought, Dick smirked, thankful with all his heart at how the Amazon had strove to help them in healing through Damian's death, despite having lost her own child, never leaving them and always being a comfort. His stepmother had held the Wayne family together, and they would all be grateful. But personally, Dick owed much of his healing process to Kory, who helped him while he rehabilitated during the first years of his prosthetics and who was his anchor in his depression after the invasion.

As she entered her mind, he looked back out to the city skylines, yearning to be out there like he was back as Nightwing, taking crime by storm and scaring the bad guys, taking down the gangs and mobs and syndicates…he missed his old life; granted, his prosthetics held so many abilities that he could continue at this moment if he chose to, but he had decided many years ago that it was time to find a new life and do something else to leave a positive mark on the world. Bludhaven's underworld tempted him, yes, but this city had a protector already; a very powerful, Tamaranean protector. He wondered… what could she be doing right now?

* * *

***East Industrial and Shipping Area, Bludhaven; same time***

She loved this!

The thrill, the rush of adrenaline in her veins, the feeling of her fists pounding at their faces…this was something Koriand'r Grayson lived for.

"Is that all you have to send against me, Roulette?!" Starfire screamed towards the ceiling of the warehouse, her hands letting go of the unconscious guard that had been foolish enough to attack her after his comrades had failed. All around her, the bodies of dozens of empowered guards and average thugs (whose weapons were scattered in pieces) lay across the large floor. The thugs had been no problem for her-it was the empowered guards that had given her some worry; her intel had told her that Roulette had stolen an experimental synthesized version of the Quantum Vapor (what had been the cause of the Big Bang in Dakota City) being experimented on by Foley, Inc. in its attempt to form disease combating cures, using it to grant many of her henchmen superhuman strength and durability. Luckily, their new strength levels only proved to be that of the common Thanagarian levels. She remembered the Thanagarian invasion from years ago and how the Titans had jumped into action…sure, Thanagarians were strong, but Tamaraneans were stronger.

"Oh no, Starfire," the voice of Roulette echoed through the large and empty warehouse, Kory detecting the smirk in her voice. "There's one more friend here that wants to say hi to you; and like me, he's quite upset about how you ruined my last Meta-Brawl…how you resorted us to mere crime bosses."

Immediately, Starfire was blasted by a surge of radioactive energy blasts, catching her off guard as she was slammed into the reinforced steel and concrete walls, creating a small dent. Dazed and eyes blurred, she saw a hulking figure run towards her, fist ready to connect with her face and a blazing green skull where his head should've been. She was not able to react in time as a powerful punch racked her face, forcing her body more into the wall and making a bigger dent. Starfire saw another fist heading her way and with her speed, she flew upwards, barely avoiding the powerful punch that almost destroyed the wall in which she was leaning on. Creating a good distance between her opponent and herself, she saw just who was attacking her: Joseph Martin, the Atomic Skull. Inwardly, she groaned-Skull was strong, specifically like Superman strong, or Class A strength leveled as Dick would say.

"I'm gonna kill you, you orange slut," the villain roared at the former Titan, his hands engulfed in green radioactive energy. "I'm going to enjoy beating you to death." His gaze then became that of a predator, eying her body like a piece of meat. "But I might have some fun with you first, though."

Over the years after she and Dick married, Starfire had made a few modifications to her costume; it no longer was a simple set of leather straps that looked like a swimsuit. She had added pants, made of a Kevlar-like material that Starr Enterprises and Wayne Enterprises had collaborated in making. She still kept the belt and part of her original costume that barely covered her breasts and her bracelets, as she loved how they looked; besides, Tamaraneans weren't as sexually observant (as Kory called it) as humans were, and she always hated when she was ogled-she was simply proud of her body and not afraid to show it. Atomic Skull's comment, though, flared up rage on the topic.

"Ok, that's it! Just for that," Starfire snarled, her eyes glowing with energy, "I'm going to make you suffer!" Instantly, she fired a barrage of Star bolts at her enemy, relentlessly bombarding Skull as she flew at him, landing a devastating sideways axe kick on his skull. Kory knew that her strength, while immense, wasn't on par with Skull's, but he merely went for brute force, while she was a master of, thanks to her husband and the Warlords of Okaara, multiple fighting styles and martial arts. As Skull tried to hit her with another punch, she easily dodged it and retaliated with a number of aikido and karate fusion techniques of her own creation. It quickly became an all-out brawl as the reinforced warehouse soon started crumbling under the might of the two titans. It was clear that this was a no-brainer battle, however; Atomic Skull was one of the most powerful supervillians in the world, but he simply relied on brute force and blasting his enemies, whereas Starfire had the fighting skills and techniques to back up her own strength, and her agility was far superior to his. Of course, Skull got in some good hits, as proved by the number of Tamaranean shaped dents and holes in the walls and resonating echoes of colliding meta-enhanced flesh, but Starfire wasn't staying down. Soon, Skull found himself on the defensive (or rather, his attempt on it) as Kory relentlessly hit him with punches and kicks, utilizing every fighting style in her arsenal. When he finally attempted to strike a punch, she caught it and with another aikido move, she flipped him onto the ground with a loud thud and followed up with a powerful axe kick to his skull face. She then unleashed a powerful burst of optic Star bolts at his, which he attempted to counter with a fiery breath of radioactive energy, but already weakened and worn out by the fight, the attempt failed and he was out cold when she was done.

"Well, I guess if you want something done right…"

Someone grabbed Koriand'r by the hair and flipped her over, sending the heroine crashing into the ground. Immediately, she got right back up, her stance showing her readiness for battle, to stare directly at her initial target, who currently had a pair of knives in her hands.

"Roulette," Kory smirked. "For a minute, I was beginning to think you'd left me to hang."

"A tempting idea," the Meta-Brawl hostess-turned-Bludhaven criminal leader said with her own smirk. "You could've made a fortune if you just stayed in Meta-Brawl. You could've made it to the big leagues, being paid to do what you do on a regular basis."

"You used me and mind controlled me, filth," Starfire snarled back, her ordeal with the villainess eight years ago still fresh in her mind. "Against my own judgment, I decided to let you live as Batman suggested; I was merciful then, but I may not be so kind this time, especially since Batman isn't hear to protect you."

"Bring it on, skank."

"THAT'S IT!" Yelling out a slew of Tamaranean vulgarity, Kory began a relentless assault of various martial art techniques, but Roulette countered with her own martial arts expertise. The crime lady was not the pushover Kory believed her to be when she first met her. The two were now locked in a heated unarmed battle as both women struggled to gain dominance over the other in the fight, blades colliding with near invulnerable skin and boots striking air. Because of years fighting each other since Starfire escaped Meta-Brawl, Roulette had adapted to Kory's foreign fight techniques, molding her own fight skills to adapt and match the Tamaranean. However, as the battle progressed, there was obviously a clear disadvantage against Roulette-Starfire's strength and durability. Starfire always liked to beat Roulette with her skills alone, always to prove she was the better fighter. But tonight, she was anxious to get back home and get some sleep, especially after her battle with Atomic Skull just now. So, adding a bit of her superhuman strength into the mix, Kory unleashed a fierce judo combo, following up with Okaara fighting techniques that, combined with her strength, sent Roulette flying into the wall, a sickening thud echoing as she made contact with the reinforced steel and concrete.

"ARRGH! DAMN YOU, YOU ORANGE BI-!"

Starfire knocked her out with a punch. "Language, woman."

* * *

***Wayne Enterprises Bludhaven Tower, penthouse level; hours later***

"You're still up?" she asked as she entered through the window.

"Of course," Dick replied with a smile as he sat up in his chair, setting a binder with notes down onto the coffee table in front of him. "I worry about my girl."

"You girl can take care of herself," Kory replied with a smirk as she walked over and kissed him. She then noticed the small tan colored child in red pajamas sleeping on the couch nearby. "Sasha was waiting for me again, huh?"

"Yep…Briana was trying to get her to sleep while I was at the party," Dick replied, referring to his teenaged daughter, now in her room asleep.

"How was the party, by the way?" Kory asked as she sat down next to her husband.

"Boring and dull and full of drunken old people; how was patrol? Was the intel any good?"

"Very accurate, actually-a number of superpowered guards, but all on Thanagarian levels, so not bad. Atomic Skull was there too, but I took care of him. And then Roulette was no big deal, as always. After dropping them off to the cops, I did the usual stuff…fly around and stop the occasional mugger or rapist. The commissioner has some leads on a new drug cartel that's trying to establish themselves here, but they're having difficulty trying to pinpoint them and get information. Oh, and a double homicide over on one of the Main Street alleys-a young couple; the MO fits recent kills in the area, so there's probably a serial killer on the loose again. I'll get back to the commissioner with whatever I find by Friday night, latest."

Dick couldn't help but smile after she finished speaking; he had taught her well. "You are so sexy when you talk like that, did I ever tell you that?"

"Many times," she cooed as she kissed him again. "But I never get tired of hearing it."

"…mmama?" Sasha mumbled as she stirred.

"Sasha," Kory cooed as she went over and picked her daughter up. "Come, my child, time to go to bed."

"Read me a story first?"

"Ok, a short one," the mother smiled tenderly.

"I'll be there in a minute," Dick called after her. "Just got to finish these data tables."

"Have fun," Kory teased as she took her youngest child to bed. She was content with how her life had turned out, even after Darkseid's invasion. She had a home, a family, and a city to call her own to protect. She couldn't imagine what more she could want.

* * *

_**XXXXX-A/N-XXXXX**_

_**Bet you were expecting Nightwing, weren't you ;)**_

_**He'll be showing up later in the story, but I must say that Starfire is Bludhaven's local superhero.**_

_**Thoughts, questions, etc? Leave a review, I love hearing from you guys, and I do my best to answer you all.**_

_**New chapters for "Marvelous and Amazing" and "Spider-Man & Ms. Marvel: Love and War" are up, too.**_

_**Ok, so next up, we're heading Detroit! Guess who we're visiting next! Also, what villains would you like to see in the next chapter?**_

_**Next chapter soon, so until next time readers.**_


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